


When The Two Collide

by Draconis_patronum



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Beauxbatons Student Draco Malfoy, Draco Malfoy Has Long Hair, French Draco Malfoy, Hogwarts Fifth Year, M/M, Oblivious Draco Malfoy, Pining Harry Potter, Possessive Harry Potter, Sassy Draco Malfoy, Slow Burn, Smart Draco Malfoy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-05
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2021-02-28 21:22:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23423896
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Draconis_patronum/pseuds/Draconis_patronum
Summary: When Draco Malfoy suddenly transfers to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry Potter can't tear his eyes away from him. What follows is a story of questioning alliances and prejudice.And maybe, a romance will bloom along the way.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Comments: 40
Kudos: 446





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello lovely's! Thank you for choosing this story, just so you know, the chapter count may change over time, it's just a rough estimate of how far I plan to go.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy, feedback is always appreciated!

Draco Malfoy stood outside Diagon Alley, still not comprehending _what the fuck_ was happening. Just a few months ago, he had been with all of his friends at Beauxbatons, having a wonderful time, talking off how Fleur had just gotten engaged to the Weasley boy, he still didn't know which one it was, there were so many of them, and then, his families owl had arrived, flying in through the window, nearly giving Draco a heart attack.

It was rare, getting letters from his family, they normally left him alone when he was at school, that was why he had opened the letter right away. Nothing could have prepared him for the earth-shattering knowledge that letter contained, he was transferring to Hogwarts, the school in Scotland. 

He had heard tales of Hogwarts, it _was_ where the Triwizard Tournament was held, he hadn't been able to come given the fact that he was underage. Not like that had stopped Harry Potter from putting his name in the cup. When he was a boy, Draco had ~~begged-~~ asked his father to let him attend Hogwarts, but he had quickly been refused, Lucius had briefly considered it, but he hated the Headmaster here, Dumbledore. 

In Lucius' view, Dumbledore would corrupt Draco, make him a muggle lover, even Draco knew how unlikely that was. His first option for schooling was, of course, Durmstrang, but that had quickly been dismissed by his mother, she couldn't bear her son being so far away from him, at least they had a family home in France. 

But now, he was attending the school, and he would do anything to go back. He loved Beauxbatons, it was his home, it was where his friends were, and he missed them. Father had refused to tell him why he was going to Hogwarts this year, and his word was final.

And here he was, shopping for his Hogwarts school supplies in Diagon Alley, it had taken him a while to find the entrance to the place, he had looked like an idiot, poking his wand into the bricks, but then, _finally_ , the wall opened.

He still looked like an idiot, he couldn't find a shop named Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Mother had instructed him to go there first to get his Hogwarts robes. He couldn't believe that he had to ask someone for help. 

Looking around, he just picked the first set of people who looked to be his age and walked up to them.

"Excuse me?" He tapped the black-haired boy on the shoulder, he had been talking with two others, a red-haired boy and a brown-haired girl. The boy turned around, his eyes were green. 

The boy's jaw dropped open and his face coloured, did he have a condition or something?

"Yes?" The brown-haired girl answered for him, she too was looking at the black-haired boy in confusion.

"I am looking for a shop called Madame Malkins, I can't seem to find it." He was aware of his french accent, his 's' had a little 'z' sound to them, but he would fix it over time.

The brown-haired girl opened her mouth to answer the question, but the black-haired boy answered before her,

"I can show you!" He smiled, and Draco was briefly thrown by his change in expression, he had a weird grin on his face and the pink colour of his cheeks had faded a bit. 

"Do you want us to come with you, mate?" The red-haired boy asked the black-haired one, Merlin, he would have to get his name, referring to him as 'the black-haired boy' was ridiculous.

"No, Ron, you and Hermione can finish your date, I'll meet you at The Three Broomsticks." The black-haired boy waved him off, at the mention of a date, both brown hair and red hair's cheeks coloured.

Black hair grabbed his wrist and started, frankly, _dragging_ him to where he assumed the shop was. He tried to make conversation on the way, but he was very, _very_ awful at it,

"So, you have long hair." Black hair looked back at him.

Draco raised an eyebrow, "You are very observant." 

He didn't try after that, but Draco didn't like the silence, so he decided to make conversation, 

"What is your name?" Draco asked black hair, he was already tired of calling him black hair.

Black hair seemed nervous and hesitated before telling him, "Harry." 

Harry cringed, he seemed to b expecting something, but Draco just stood there. Harry glanced at him, looking surprised, was he supposed to know him?

"Harry is an awful name." Draco nodded, trying to figure out if that was why the boy was so worked up, was he embarrassed by his name, it wasn't that awful, at least it wasn't named after another constellation, those names were always weird, except for Draco's of course.

Harry looked at him for a moment, and then he laughed. Draco was surprised, he wasn't used to making people laugh, he could charm people, yes, that was easy, but causing someone true joy, that was a nice feeling, and suddenly, he was yearning to make Harry laugh again.

"Well, Harry, it looks like we have arrived." He looked up, they had indeed made it to the store. Harry looked up as well, it looked like he hadn't noticed. 

"Well, I'll see you later.." Harry trailed off, looking like he had just realized something, he facepalmed. 

"I forgot to ask your name." Harry looked up. 

"Draco." 

"Well, Draco's an amazing name." Harry smiled and walked off. Draco smiled as well, Harry seemed like a nice person, maybe he would meet him again at Hogwarts, Merlin he hoped so, Fleur had told him that most of the people at Hogwarts were awfully boring, Draco could stand many types of people, but _boring_ people were where he drew the line. 

Harry didn't seem boring, he looked forward to getting to know him in the future. 

Draco opened the door and made his way into the small but cosy shop, there were many mirrors, and some people were already getting tailored. Pink curtains made patterns at the top of the store, and Draco decided that he like whoever decorated this place. He could only admire the place for a second before someone came up to him,

"Welcome! You're here for?" A tall woman with brown hair that was pulled into a bun came up to him, she had a sewing needle in her hand and was looking him up and down. 

"Hogwarts robes," Draco answered. The woman looked surprised.

"Aren't you a bit too old to be getting robes, darling?" She seemed amused and Draco didn't know if he was supposed to be embarrassed or amused.

"I am transferring to Hogwarts this year." 

"Oh! Hogwarts doesn't get many transfers anymore, where are you coming from?" The woman led him to one of the mirrors.

"Beauxbatons." He answered shortly, she was taking some measurements, first his waist, then his arms.

"Ah, you do have an accent. I love that school, so classy, and the students there all have amazing manners, Durmstrang is a bit intimidating though." Draco couldn't agree more, he loved Beauxbatons elegance almost as much as he hated Durmstrangs strict policies, he was elated when he heard that he was going to Beauxbatons instead of that school.

"I agree." Draco nodded, he knew that his responses were short, he just didn't like making conversation when it was avoidable, he was very selective with the people that he chose to spend time with, that was why his circle of friends wasn't that big, there were only so many people that were worthy enough to be in his presence.

Not too mention the ones that just wanted to get in his pants, but that hadn't been much of a problem when he was eleven. 

Speaking of people who wanted to get in his pants, in came Theodore Nott, behind him was that Parkinson girl. He cringed at seeing Nott, he hated him, the few times that they had met, he had made him feel entirely uncomfortable, and he couldn't even tell him to stop, they had to maintain a good relationship with the Nott family.

"Draco." He purred as soon as he saw him, the woman had finished by now, she was giving him his Hogwarts robes, they were grey, they were supposed to change once he got sorted.

"Hello, Nott." Draco looked away, already wanting to get out of this situation, he baulked at the thought of having to be in the same school as this creep for the next two years. 

"How many times have I told you to call me Theo, Draco?" He wrapped an arm around Draco's waist, and Draco flinched just barely at the touch. He had insisted that Draco call him 'Theo' more times than he could count. 

Draco didn't know what to say so he shrugged. He wanted to push this bastard away, but then again, maintaining a good relationship with the Nott family was more important, his feelings didn't matter. 

He looked over at Parkinson, who was looking at him in pity, she also knew how much of a sleaze he was, he didn't bother Parkinson the same way that he bothered Draco, he seemed to only have eyes for Draco. He suddenly missed Beauxbatons all over again. 

"Walk with us, Draco." Nott looked over at what Draco was holding and he visibly beamed. 

"You're coming to Hogwarts?" He leered and Draco drew back. 

"Yes." Draco nodded.

"Amazing." Nott took his hand away and put it on his shoulder, still looking him in the eye. 

Nott was a Slytherin in Hogwarts, they were supposed to stay with their respective houses for their whole Hogwarts schooling, again, Draco would rather jump into a cauldron of boiling oil than ever be so close to Nott. 

Nott started to walk, he wrapped his arm around Draco's waist again and Draco's skin crawled. 

"You're looking beautiful," Nott said, opening the door to Madame Malkins, he didn't know where they were going.

"I know." Draco would not return the compliment. 

He had expected Nott to be insulted, but he just laughed at leered at him,

"I love you sass, Draco." He purred, Merlin, when would this torture end. 

"Thank you." Draco forced a smile, he could only be so insulting with him. He looked at Parkinson, silently begging her to get Nott of, but just looked back at him, shrugging, also looking helpless. 

He hated feeling helpless, when he became head of his family, he would break off any contact they had with the Nott family immediately, but for now, he had to obey his father's wishes, he remembered when he had complained to him, he had looked sorry, but he had told him to suck it up and deal with it. 

So he did, he sucked it up and dealt with it. If it went too far, he would castrate him. 

Nott drew back, "We should go to the Three Broomsticks." He turned to look at Parkinson, she nodded. 

They walked to this 'Three Broomsticks', didn't Harry mention that place as well? Maybe he would meet him there, that would be nice. 

*****************

There he was, as soon as they walked into the pub, he spotted the black-haired boy, Harry. He was sitting with his friends, drinking a yellow liquid, he had a little foam moustache on his upper lip, and he was laughing with his friends while wiping it off.

They sat down at the table next to them, he looked over at Nott - who had finally let go of him - he had a sneer on his face, if he didn't like Harry, then why was he sitting so close to him. 

Draco didn't have to wait long for his answer.

"That's Potter, he's an idiot." Nott turned to him, pointing at Potter, he made sure he was loud enough for Harry to hear him-

_Wait._

'Potter?' He had said his name was Harry. If Nott didn't like him, then he would refer to him by his last name, so he was _Harry Potter_. That was why he was so reluctant to tell Draco his name, he didn't like people recognizing him? The concept was completely alien to him, Draco loved attention, he preened under it, he was in his element. 

"Shove off, Nott." The red-haired boy sneered back at Nott, Harry, however, was looking at Draco weirdly. 

"Draco?" He asked. The red-haired boy and brown-haired girl looked at him, as did Nott and Parkinson. 

"You know them?" Parkinson asked, and Draco took back what he said about liking the attention. 

"Oh, Draco, they must have fooled you, what did he say, that they were purebloods?" Nott and Parkinson laughed. 

"Granger there's a _mudblood_." Nott sneered, pointing at ~~the brown-haired girl~~ Granger, the red-haired boy reacted immediately, getting up and pushing Nott. 

"You take that back!" He yelled. 

"Oh, Weasley's mad we hurt his little mudblood girlfriends feewings?" Nott talked to Weasley like he was a baby, Weasley was red in the face, glaring at Nott, by now, Harry had also gotten up. Harry was looking at Draco in betrayal, he didn't understand why.

He wanted to make them stop, he wanted to stop hurting Harry's feelings, but he knew he couldn't, the word would most definitely get back to his father that he was defending a mudblood. He didn't want to be disowned, that would bring him dangerously close to the line. 

A woman came out of the back of the store and started coming close to them, she looked furious, "You six, out!" She yelled. 

Draco didn't need to be told twice, he started to walk out of the pub when someone grabbed his wrist, Nott. 

"Who are you to tell _us_ that we're supposed to leave." Nott glared at the woman haughtily. 

"I'm the owner." She ground out. 

Nott glared at her and then glared at Harry, "My father will hear about this." And with that, he grabbed Draco's wrist and stomped out of the pub, at least they were leaving now. Draco looked over his shoulder at Harry, who was still looking at him, he couldn't wave bye to him while his wrist was in Nott's hand, but he wanted to. 

****************

Draco stood at Platform ¾, his father was on his left side while his mother was on his right, he was getting the speech from his father, 

"Remember Draco, you are a Malfoy." Father raised an eyebrow, and Draco knew he was meant to finish the spiel.

"And Malfoy's get what they want, no matter what they have to do to get it." Draco nodded, he had heard these exact words every time he came home for the summer, and every time, he blocked them out, this time wasn't any different.

Draco got onto the train, he didn’t look back at his parents, he knew they weren’t looking back at him, so what was the point. He started walking through the compartments, looking for Nott and Parkinson and all their other friends, he couldn’t find them. 

But he did see Harry and his friends, if he couldn’t find Nott and the others, it would be acceptable to sit here, he didn’t want to be near him anyways. 

And all the other compartments were full. Draco bit his lip and opened the door, all eyes turned to him in an instant. 

They weren’t saying anything, it looked like he would have to say something, “All the other compartments are full.” He shrugged. 

Weasley narrowed his eyes as Harry moved over and Draco sat down. 

“Not sitting with your _friends?_ ” He said in a scalding tone and Draco cringed, he didn’t know much about their animosity but it seemed like he had severely underestimated how cruel Nott could be.

“No, I could not find them, it looks like I got on the train later than expected.” Draco knew Nott was most likely looking for him. 

Weasley scoffed and Draco sucked in a breath, “I am not fond of Nott either.” Draco shrugged again, he couldn’t believe he’d just said that; he never spoke out Nott before, at least, not since he was seven. 

“Then why do you hang out with him?” Granger inquired, or at least, that’s what he thought her name was. 

“Father,” Draco said that as if it was obvious, because..it was, why else would he hang out with him, he hated him. 

“What about your father?” Harry asked from beside him. 

“Have to hang out with Nott, keep up appearances, does not matter what he does, I have to keep quiet about it, does not matter.” He couldn’t believe he was telling this to complete strangers, but what were they going to do? Tell his father? He already knew, he just didn’t care, and it wasn’t like anyone would believe them, maybe they would believe Potter, but father would take care of it. 

Granger bristled at that, she opened her mouth, looking ready to go on a tangent, when someone opened the door, Draco didn’t have to look to see who it was, he just sighed and sat there, he knew he looked defeated. 

****************

Harry watched as Nott burst in through the door, facing them with a sneer. 

“Draco, what do you think you’re doing, hanging out with mudbloods and blood-traitors?” Nott scolded Draco, and Harry flushed red, not because of Nott’s insults towards them, but the way Nott ordered Draco around, and the way Draco just took it, looking defeated. 

“All the other compartments were full,” Draco answered Nott, not looking at him. 

“What about ours? I would have just kicked Parkinson out or something.” Nott continued to scold him. 

“I could not find you.” Draco still wouldn’t look at Nott, he faced Harry, practically pleading with him with his eyes to get him away from Nott, and Harry tried. 

“Nott, he can make his own decisions, let him go.” Harry pushed Nott away. 

“You don’t tell me what to do, Potter! Draco, come on!” Nott yelled and left, expecting Draco to follow him. 

Draco sighed and turned back to them, “Goodbye, thank you for trying.” He thanked Harry while getting his luggage and gave them a final wave, walking away. 

Harry couldn’t think about anything else the rest of the train ride.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the slow update schedule!

Draco was scared. He could admit that much to himself. He was scared of getting sorted. 

Dumbledore cleared his throat when the last child had been sorted. He only had the most primitive knowledge when it came to Hogwarts and its curriculum. Mother and Father had gone to Hogwarts so he knew of the Sorting ceremony, but he had forgotten about it at Beauxbatons, students were separated by gender there. 

"As you can see, we have a new student attending Hogwarts this year. He will be joining you in fifth year." He spoke. The tiny toad woman that had interrupted the Headmaster looked surprised at this and now she was peering at him with suspicion. 

"Draco Malfoy!" Professor McGonagall announced and he took that as his cue to walk onto the stool and have that ratty old hat put on him. 

The toad woman's demeanour changed immediately when she heard her name. She put on a sickeningly sweet smile that was so obviously fake. Even if Draco hadn't been taught to read people's emotions and body language at a young age, he would have known that this woman was a fake and vile woman. She just radiated disdain and bitterness. 

Draco sat down on the stool. The hat was lowered onto his head and he hated the feeling of it instantly. He could feel it poking around in his mind, it was subtle and barely noticeable, but it was there. His mind was his safe space and he didn't take kindly to having someone in there. 

But he didn't think chucking the hat across the hall would be a good idea.

_'No, it would not be.'_

Draco jumped. Was that the hat? His voice was scruffy. Now that he thought about it, should Draco call the hat a 'he'? Its voice certainly sounded like a male. 

_' I prefer to be called a 'he'.'_ The hat answered him. 

_'You are interesting Mr Malfoy.'_

Draco preened under the compliment, he always had a praise kink. And it was rare to get compliments from people at Beauxbatons. Nott wasn't exactly helpful, all of his compliments were accompanied by a leer or a possessive hand around his waist.

Draco cringed when he looked over at Nott instinctively. He looked annoyed. Why was he annoyed? Was it because Draco was taking so long to be sorted? Maybe he should just tell the hat to put him in Slytherin.

_' But you don't belong there, do you?'_

Draco scoffed; of course he belonged in Slytherin. He was expected to be one. 

_' That does not answer my question, Mr Malfoy. Do you belong in Slytherin? You are ambitious, yes. But you are also brave. You value your friends and you value knowledge. Do you understand what I'm saying Mr Malfoy?'_

He didn't. Yes, he had an idea. But that was ridiculous. He couldn't be anything but Slytherin. Even Ravenclaw was out of the question. Mother and Father would be furious with him-- well, _father_ would be furious with him. Merlin knows how bad it would be if he got sorted into Hufflepuff, Mother had something against Hufflepuffs while father saw them as weak. 

And Gryffindor was out of the question--

_'But is it? You don't understand what I'm asking you, Mr Malfoy. I'm not asking what your family asks of you. I'm asking what you want.'_

Draco paused. He was being asked to think of himself. To value his feelings over something else. He wasn't being asked to think of the family. It had been so long since someone had asked him what he wanted that Draco actually had to think of what he wanted. 

What did he want?

There was only one thing that he wanted. To be free. 

He didn't want to be held down by his family. He didn't want to be nice to Nott nor did he want to be in the same house as him. He didn't want to be in Hufflepuff as he knew it wouldn't be the house for him. Ravenclaw was a nice house, yes. But he didn't want his life to revolve around knowledge. 

He wanted friends. 

He wanted friends that were friends with him for him. Friends that didn't care about his status or his wealth. 

Draco wanted to be a Gryffindor. 

_' Then that is what you will be.'_

Wait, no--

"GRYFFINDOR!" 

Dead silence.

Draco hated that fucking hat. 

*****************************

Sitting at the Gryffindor table. He realized that he had made a mistake. It was like the whole table was yelling in his ear. Did they not know how to be quiet? He glanced at the Slytherin table and sighed when he saw them conversing quietly and respectfully. He liked silence and it was clear that he wouldn't get that here. 

"Missing your friends, Malfoy?" Someone asked him. He looked over and saw a tall boy that looked like that Ron person he had met earlier that day. There was someone next to him that looked exactly the same. Twins. 

"I miss silence." He answered truthfully. 

Surprisingly, they laughed and sat down next to him. The others had moved away from him when he had sat down. 

"Gotta ask, you were up there for a bit-

what'd the hat say to you?" One of the twins finished the other sentence. 

Draco wondered if he should tell them. He didn't see anything bad coming out of it anyways, 

"It asked me what house I wanted to be in." Someone gasped at that. He saw Harry looking at him, eyes wide. Others were staring unabashedly now.

"And you wanted to be in Gryffindor?" A twin asked incredulously. 

Draco paused. It was odd going against everything he was meant to stand for. He was supposed to hate Gryffindors and everything they stood for. He was supposed to be a Slytherin. He was supposed to believe in blood purity. But he didn't want to live up to anyone's expectations anymore. 

"Yes." He said slowly. 

"That's a first." A boy Draco didn't recognize said.

"First time for everything." A twin dismissed. 

_'First time for everything.'_ That sentence echoed in his head. There _was_ a first time for everything. Maybe Draco could be the first Malfoy in Gryffindor. Maybe Draco could change the Malfoy's and the disdain that accompanied the name. 

His parent's pretended that everyone adored them because of their blood status. But Draco wasn't a fool. He was a naturally quiet person. He was so quiet that people often forgot he was in the room and spoke all of their secrets in front of him. 

For instance, he knew that Cousin Giovanni was cheating on her husband with a reporter in the Daily Prophet. Riya sleeker?

He knew that people hated the Malfoy's and only tolerated them because of their wealth and the power they held in the Wizengamont. They were infamous but tolerated. 

Now that Draco thought about it, people hated the Malfoy's because of how predictable they were. A new Malfoy was produced, if that Malfoy went to Hogwarts, they would be sorted into Slytherin where they would learn how to rule over other people. Said Malfoy would go on to become Head of their house and then produce a new Malfoy and the cycle would repeat.

Maybe change was a good thing. 

"Do you hate Muggleborns?" Someone asked suddenly. 

Draco looked over at them, a girl with bushy hair, Hermione? 

"I've never thought of blood status before. I suppose I don't care." Draco's eyebrows were scrunched up. He had made friends with people at Beauxbatons and had never once asked them about their blood status. He had made friends with them because they seemed like generally good people. Some had even come up to him and invited him to their parties. 

Hermione looked relieved at that, but her friend - Ron - perked up, "Aren't you friends with Nott?" 

He sneered at the mention of Nott, he looked over at said person and found him glaring at Draco, _"Merlin, no."_

Another thought occurred to him. He was in Gryffindor, he wasn't in the same house as Nott anymore which meant that he couldn't get his slimy hands on Draco. 

"But...you hang out with him?" Ron looked confused. 

"Forcefully." Draco deadpanned. 

"Who in their right mind would want to hang out with such a vain and cruel person? You know he used to torture animals when we were young. I had to heal them when he left! Such a creepy, vile, sadistic, blood purity obsessed prat--" 

Draco slapped a hand on his own mouth. His eyes bulging out. He hadn't dared speak out against Nott before, not since that incident. Father had been so mad that day that he almost hurt Draco, he had said things that day that were still embedded in Draco's mind. That incident was one of the reasons he was such a quiet person. He was quiet before but after that he had closed off completely, only opening up once he had gotten to Beauxbatons. 

He looked around expecting people to be shocked and appalled at the use of crude language but instead, they looked amused. A few were laughing outright, Ron and Harry among them. Hermione had a hand on her mouth, chuckling behind it. 

Draco slowly lowered his hand, a smile forming on his face. He finally got to let out all of his bottled up feelings. It felt...good. People were moving closer to him now. Maybe Gryffindor wasn't so bad after all.

****************************

Harry liked Draco. 

Draco was attractive and had a great personality. He seemed timid but looked like he could get worked up into a frenzy. Another thing was that he hated Nott and that practically sealed the deal.

He had figured out that he fancied boy's over the summer. It had been quite a big shock for him but Hermione had, of course, known. Ron had been shocked but he had accepted Harry. 

Harry knew that he wanted to be friends with Draco. 

He lay on the couch, his head in Hermione's lap, talking about how amazing Draco was. 

"And his hair just looks so long and silky! He smells like _vanilla_. And his accent!" Harry was gushing and Hermione was giggling. Ron was fake vomiting but he was warming up to Draco. Really, he liked anyone that didn't like Nott. 

"Yes, Harry, we all know what he smells like." Ron rolled his eyes.

"What who smells like?" A familiar voice asked and Harry shot up, peering over the couch. 

"We're just talking about how hot--" Harry slapped his mouth over Ron's. 

Draco looked timid, his question had been soft and Harry knew they wouldn't have been able to hear him if the room hadn't been so quiet. 

"If I am interrupting then I can leave--" Draco was already getting ready to leave the room but was stopped by Harry who still had his hand on Ron's mouth despite the muffle protests coming from the boy. 

"No, no! You can sit down with us!" Draco's eyes widened at that and he seemed to think about it for a moment before slowly walking over to the couch and sitting down next to Hermione. 

Ron finally shoved Harry's hand away but Harry didn't care. He was already slithering into the spot next to Draco. 

He wouldn't have been this confident talking to someone he liked if it wasn't for Hermione, she had educated him on the whole subject of romance. Harry had even read a book on male courting. He hadn't thought that would be useful, but maybe it would be now. 

"So, tell us about Beauxbatons," Harry asked, wanting to have a conversation with the blonde.

"It's a castle." Draco shrugged. 

"Hogwarts is a castle." Harry retaliated. 

"Beauxbatons is a bigger castle," Draco said and Harry sighed, looking at Hermione helplessly. 

"This isn't working. I've never been good at subtlety." Harry mumbled and Draco opened his mouth but Harry cut him off. 

"Wanna be friends?" And Draco's mouth shut with an audible click. He looked so shocked that Harry was momentarily reminded of Dobby.

Draco hesitated, opening and closing his mouth. He looked like a fish. 

Finally, Draco smiled and answered, "Yes."


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to apologize if you see a few mistakes in these chapters. It's Ramadan and It's hard to write with the constant hunger. As of now, I do not have a beta, as I do for all my other stories. 
> 
> I'm currently working on it but it may take a while. I normally struggle with grammar anyways.

Draco liked Harry Potter. But he did notice that the others in Gryffindor house didn't like him very much. They whispered behind his back. And sometimes, like in the case of the boy named Seamus Finnigan. They told him outright what they thought of him. 

But Harry never let it get to him. At least, not around Draco. But Draco wasn't an idiot. He knew that some of the others didn't like him. They didn't trust him because of his parents. 

They thought him shy. But he was far from shy. 

He was...independent. 

It had been so long since he had been able to trust anyone or talk to anyone. His friends at Beauxbatons were okay, but he never really told them personal things. The only person he had ever shared anything to was Fleur. 

And now, she was gone. 

"Draco." Someone called, and Draco lifted his head up from the book he had been pretending to read. 

He froze. 

"Nott." He returned, not letting his discomfort show. There was no one else in the library. Lately, he had been doing his best to surround himself with people. Only because Nott had been staring at him for an uncomfortable amount of minutes. 

Weasley had just left to talk to Granger. He should be right back. 

"You're a Gryffindor," Nott stated. 

"Yes," Draco said. 

Nott narrowed his eyes for a moment, looking him up and down. Then, he smiled, "You know we'll always be friends no matter what, right Draco?" He said, but Draco saw through the farce. Nott was good at manipulation, Draco had witnessed that first hand. 

"Of course." Draco hesitated, but he didn't stutter. Malfoy's don't stutter.

"Unfortunately, your father is _very_ mad at you." The sadistic glint was back in Nott's eyes and Draco froze yet again. He knew Nott was hinting at the incident. 

"Draco, don't worry, it's okay. I'll always be here for you." Nott sat down close to him. Too close. 

He leaned him and--

"Hey!" Nott flung back and Draco sighed, some of the tension leaving his body.

Draco looked over to see Weasley standing next to Granger, looking absolutely furious. 

"What do you think you're doing, Nott?" Weasley spat out. 

"Talking to my friend, _Weasley_." Nott spat out the last name in disgust. 

Draco wanted nothing more than to leave. He hated being in the middle of conflict.

"He clearly doesn't want to talk to you, leave." Granger chimed in. 

Nott looked over at her and sneered, "No one asked for your opinion, you filthy little mudblood." 

Weasley let out a sound of rage and flew himself at Nott. They landed at Draco's feet, punching and trading insults. Draco would have liked to say he was surprised, but Nott was always like this. 

Draco sighed and made his way over to Granger, his book lay forgotten on the table. 

"Nott's a creep." Granger scrunched up her nose. 

Draco shrugged, knowing Nott wouldn't hear him if he made any comments but he didn't want to take any chances. 

"WEASLEY! NOTT!" A shrill voice yelled. 

Draco didn't need to look to see who it was. Madame Pince was the only woman he knew that go from being a somewhat sweet old woman to a banshee. Weasley and Nott both froze when they heard her voice, seemingly forgetting that they were, in fact, in a library. 

"Detention." The woman hissed out. 

"With Snape." She added as an afterthought and both Weasley and Nott shivered. Draco suppressed his urge to smile, he knew how intimidating his godfather could be.

Nott and Weasley reluctantly separated from each other. Nott glared at Draco for a bit before leaving the library. Draco could still feel his eyes on him as he left. He could feel Nott's eyes on him as he left. He pursed his lips. He had a bad feeling about this. About Nott and what he had said. 

Maybe he wasn't trying to poke fun at him? Maybe father actually was really mad. Well, of course he was mad. But would he be as mad as he was that day?

"Malfoy?" Weasley asked. 

"Hmm?" Draco hummed questioningly. 

"You were hyperventilating," Weasley stated. 

Draco hesitated for a moment, "Oh." He said lamely. 

"Well...I've got to go," Draco said, gathering his materials from the table. 

"We could study--" Draco didn't let Granger finish her sentence as he rushed out of the library. 

***************************

"...together," Hermione said with her hand still stretched out. 

"Not even a thank you." Ron huffed. 

"Don't be a prat Ron, there was clearly something wrong with him," Hermione said. 

"Yeah, he was with Nott. The prick probably did something." Some colour was starting to come back to Ron's face. Even the thought of Nott always made Ron mad. 

"No; something else," Hermione mumbled mostly to herself. 

"What was that, Hermione?" Ron asked. 

"Nothing. It's just, I wish he would actually talk to us. Harry really likes him, as a friend too. He's really smart, you know." 

"He's quiet," Ron said. 

"But not shy," Hermione added. 

Ron nodded, "Yeah, he's not." 

"We have our first class today. We could probably talk to him there." 

"I don't see why you're even trying to be friends with him, Hermione. He doesn't try." Ron said. 

"His only friends have been Nott and his group, haven't they? I guess, I just want to give him a taste of what real friendship is like." Hermione said. 

Hermione also saw the way Nott looked at Draco. It seemed like he stared at him the whole day, never taking his eyes off of him. Like a predator looking at prey. Hermione shuddered remembering the way he looked at Draco. 

Part of the reason she wanted to be friends with him was to protect him from Nott. 

_"Tempus."_ She said, checking the time. 

"It's almost 9 am!" She shrieked, reaching out to grab Ron's hand. 

***********************

"Hello, Harry," Draco said, on the floor. He had been rushing to get to class when he rounded the corner and hit someone. He didn't apologize; Malfoy's never apologized. But he didn't have to when he saw that the person he had bumped into was Harry. 

Harry's eyes widened and he kept on mumbling 'sorry' under his breath as he rushed to help Draco pick up his things. Harry's own things were scattered on the floor but he didn't seem worried about picking them up. 

"You don't have to--" Draco cut himself off, Harry wasn't paying attention to him. 

Well, since Harry was picking up _his_ things. It was only appropriate if Draco picked up _Harry's_ things. 

Draco reached over to where Harry's books and scrolls were laying abandoned on the floor. The first thing he noticed about them was how crumpled and disorganized the pile was. 

Harry's writing looked like chicken scratch. Was that a 'Y' or an 'R'?

"Here!" Harry yelled, handing his bag over to him. Draco braced himself before looking in it. 

It was horrible. 

Everything was jammed inside...why was there a bag of chocolate frogs in his bag. 

He schooled his expression before looking up. 

"Here's your things." Draco handed Harry his perfectly organized bag. 

Harry's eyes widened when he looked inside the bag, "This is really...neat." 

Draco nodded. 

"Sorry," Harry said yet again, looking defeated. 

"For what?" Draco asked. 

"I fucked up your bag, didn't I?" Harry looked sheepish. 

"Oh...no. I like the...chocolate frogs?" Draco said, trying his best to be friendly. He actually liked Harry and had no desire to hurt his feelings. 

"Chocolate frogs?" Harry asked, looking inside Draco's bag. 

"Shit! I'm sorry." Harry said yet again. 

"It's fine, now come on, we should get to class." Draco got up and held out his hand to help Harry get up. 

Harry smiled and took it. 

****************************

"You're late." Snape snarled as Harry walked in the door.

Harry sighed, he really didn't need the added stress of Snape. The other was clearly in a bad mood. 

"I was help--" Harry started even though he knew it was useless. 

"I do not need your excuses, Potter." He spat out and Harry groaned. 

"Professor, he was helping me." A voice chimed in. Harry looked behind him to see Draco standing against the open door. 

Harry was sure Snape was going to yell at Draco as well, but strangely, he didn't. Instead, he looked Draco up and down and then sneered, "Very well, sit down." 

As soon as Draco was out of the doorway the doors closed in on themselves with a bang. Looking around, Harry saw that the only seats that were open were the ones that were next to Nott and his group of lackeys. 

Harry glared at said boy who had clearly done it on purpose. 

Harry glanced at Draco and hated the way the other boy looked defeated. He walked over to the seat closest to Nott and sat down. Nott looked at him in spite, Draco, however, looked at him gratefully. He mentally whooped. 

Harry:1, Nott: 0.

Draco sat down next to Harry and gave him a small smile. Harry's heart almost burst. 

"Draco, sit down over here." Nott hissed. 

Draco shrugged, "I'm sorry, Nott, but sitting on Harry's lap would be inappropriate." Harry chuckled. Draco clearly ignored the stunned look on Nott's face. 

"Is something funny?" Snape said suddenly over them. Harry swore the man could teleport. 

"No, sir," Harry said. 

"15 points from Gryffindor." Harry sighed, Potions class was always horrible. Snape never let them have fun. At least he got to sit next to Draco, plus this was only the first class of the day. 

Harry was trying to be optimistic. But it wasn't exactly easy when half of your 'friends' were suddenly talking about you behind your back. Even Hermione and Ron were looking at him weirdly. Dumbledore was completely ignoring him and Cedric-

 _No._

He wasn't going to think about Cedric. He had to stay Optimistic, or else he would fall apart. Look on the bright side, he was in _love._ Over the summer, he had figured out that he was bisexual. And now, he was in love with a boy. He had messaged Sirius and he had sent back a letter teaching him how to use lube and pleasure charms. They were in a frightening amount of detail.

"Hello?" Someone waved their hand in front of Harry's face and he snapped out of his trance. 

"What?" He jerked up. Draco was standing over him holding a bunch of ingredients in his arms. 

Draco laughed, it was small but Harry loved it. Just like everything else about him, it was perfect. 

_'Cheesy.'_ Sirius' voice echoed in his head and Harry found himself agreeing. He was rather ridiculous when he liked someone. 

"We're making Skele-Gro," Draco said and set the ingredients down in front of their cauldron. 

"We are?" Harry glanced at the board and saw that it had notes on it. Written in Snape's spidery handwriting. How was it that even the man's handwriting was as frightening as the rest of him?

"We are." Harry dragged miserably. 

He walked over to the cauldron, he didn't even know where to start. 

Draco, seemingly picking up on this, smiled - a full-blown smile! - "Potions isn't your best subject, is it?" He said with a knowing look. 

Harry laughed "You could say that." He was barely passing and he didn't even know how he was managing _that_.

Draco nodded, "I'm not that good at Herbology. I can never remember what the plants do. They're all just green leaves to me." 

"You should talk to Neville, he would love to tutor you," Harry suggested. 

Draco's face fell, "Longbottom? He doesn't like me very much." Draco looked away and Harry wondered if he had said something wrong. They were finally having a real conversation, had he mucked it up already?

"Neville? He likes everyone! He's probably just...shy." Harry knew why Neville was avoiding Draco, because of his aunt. He understood why Neville was doing it, but Neville was Neville and if he had the chance to help someone, he would take it no matter what grudge he had against them. 

Draco's smile was back, but it was smaller than the last time, "I hope you're right." He mumbled as he measured something and dumped it into the potion. 

"Wow, that's good," Harry said in amazement. 

Draco blushed, "I like potions." He said, his smile growing wider at the compliment. 

So Draco liked being complimented! He would have to remember that.

"There!" Draco said suddenly as the potion began to change colour. 

"You're done already?" Harry's eyes widened. That was...amazing. 

"You're done?" Snape appeared out of nowhere as usual. But that didn't stop Harry from almost having a heart attack. 

"This is...adequate." Snape paused for a moment. Harry saw the amazement in his eyes and knew that the man was also as shocked as Harry was. The other students were all looking at them. Hermione was looking at Draco in despair, no doubt horrified that someone was threatening her grades. 

Nott was staring at Draco with a look in his eyes. Harry didn't know what it was, but he didn't like it. It was predatory and Harry hated it. 

There was something clearly wrong with Draco and Nott's relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the abrupt stop!


End file.
